Michael Bennet to lead Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

WASHINGTON — Sen. Michael Bennet will lead the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — a position that propels a Colorado senator into leadership for the first time in more than 20 years and puts Bennet in a precarious partisan position in a swing state.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked Bennet to do the job within a week of Election Day last month. He was also asked in 2010, right after his narrow victory, but he turned it down.

The position — which primarily consists of fundraising and recruiting Democrats to beat Republicans in the at least 33 Senate races that will take place in 2014 — shifts Bennet markedly to the left and risks morphing his carefully crafted image of being able to cross the aisle.

It's rare for a senator from a potentially vulnerable political position to take a job such as this. The job is usually headed by people from deep-blue states such as New York or Washington. From now on, Bennet will be hounded daily for cable TV interviews, and he can be as polarizing as he wishes on the daily Democratic talking points.

But Bennet's friends and colleagues say his style is that of a low-key moderate with a proven record of working with Republicans and that he won't be as firebrand as, say, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who is arguably one of the most successful former committee chairs.

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"Michael is one of the brightest rising stars in the Democratic Party, and he is exactly the right person to lead our efforts over the next two years," Reid said. "Not only does Michael know how to win tough races, he has the trust and loyalty of the entire Democratic caucus behind him."

Bennet didn't give interviews to media Tuesday, but he sent this statement to The Denver Post through a spokesman: "Most important to me was that I could serve in this capacity while still maintaining my ability to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle on behalf of families across Colorado and the country."

"He clearly wanted to do this," said Republican operative Dick Wadhams. "I'm not even being critical of him — I think he'll do a good job, but it's going to be at odds with the image he was trying to carefully craft of himself."

State GOP chairman Ryan Call said the state deserved "leaders (who) are focused on developing reasonable, thoughtful public policy — rather than leaders (who) are more interested in courting liberal special interests and deep-pocketed donors."

"Sen. Bennet's new role as head of the DSCC misplaces his priorities and obligations to the people of Colorado," Call said.

Staffers say the reason it took Bennet so long to decide whether to take the job — a record three weeks that drove Washington media crazy — was because he was negotiating a leadership platform that would promote moderate Democrats.

The two-year job means he'll be fundraising for those up for election in November 2014 — including his Colorado colleague, Sen. Mark Udall.

Besides Colorado, there are Senate races in a number of Republican and swing states, including New Mexico, Alaska, Virginia and North Carolina.

Bennet, known as a prolific and skilled fundraiser, has personal wealth of between $4.9 million and $19.3 million, according to last year's financial disclosure reports.

The last person to run the committee was Washington Sen. Patty Murray, a known but soft-spoken liberal who just won re-election.

Undoubtedly, the job will push Bennet into more respected circles and a higher profile nationally. Also, he may get moved onto a more prestigious committee, although that won't be known until the 113th Congress takes its seat in January.

Right now, Bennet serves on the Banking and Housing committee; Health, Labor and Pensions committee; Agriculture committee; and Committee on Aging.

The last time a Colorado senator landed a leadership position was in the mid-1980s, when GOP Sen. Bill Armstrong chaired the then-Republican Policy Committee.

"I don't know if taking this job has any short-term risk. He has four years to run still," said Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli. "This is just two years of indentured servitude. ... He didn't have to take the job, but he did. He clearly sees an upside."